Resolution of the UEF Federal Committee on Research and Innovation for More Sustainable Growth, Employment and Competitiveness in Europe

Adopted by UEF Federal Committee, Venice on 29 November 2015.

The Federal Committee of the Union of European Federalists,

Whereas the Research & Innovation (R&I) public programmes are essential for European growth and jobs and have today the same strategic role for security and growth as the Coal and Steel Community used to have;

Whereas European competitiveness is overall in decline and that the global market share held by EU companies has now fallen to 20%, compared to the 25% stake it held in the 80s;

1. REGRETS that the management of European R&I today by up to 90% (80%) is still fragmented into national and regional levels (NUTS 2) in most sectors, resulting in a huge loss of effectiveness and competitiveness in the European drive for innovation against bigger competitors such as China / ASIA and the US and actually amounts to a waste of wealth and employment;

That the effort to reach a critical mass in the strategic management of public and private European research is still essentially inadequate in most sectors;

2. UNDERLINES the urgent need to consolidate efforts and increase the critical mass of European R&I facing the efforts of competitors like China / Asia and the United States of America;

That it is now necessary to limit competition in pre-commercial R&I in Europe to tackle the exponential rise in R&I costs as we progress in knowledge, e.g. in the field of nanotechnologies;

That the military and dual-use cannot drive R&I in Europe the way it does with our trading competitors in this field (USA, China and Israel) and that it is therefore necessary to support ambitious strategic R&I projects in the civilian sector, with a unified effort at the adequate level, i.e. that of the EU;

3. OBSERVES that the Member States have largely failed to implement the strategic objectives that were set in Barcelona and Lisbon on the ratio of research and innovation expenditure to Gross Domestic Product;

4. CALLS for a Treaties reform which includes conferring to the Union shared competence on the management of public spending strategy in Research and Innovation in Europe as part of the economic policy; Specifically for European federal policies under the management of the European Commission with the participation of Member States at Management Committee level.